Lung Cancer Screening Center Offers Early Detection with Multidisciplinary Approach

A pioneering, comprehensive lung cancer screening center offers more effective early detection services by reliance on computed tomography (CT) scan over chest X-rays for screening and by drawing on the world-class expertise of its multidisciplinary team.

New York University Langone Medical Center (NYU Langone; New York City, NY, USA) radiologists have used computed tomography (CT) scans for lung cancer screening since the 1990s and, with collaborators at Cornell University Medical Center, published the original study on CT screening to detect early lung cancer in 2000. More recently, a National Cancer Institute-sponsored study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 2011 revealed that screening of heavy smokers with CT can decrease lung cancer mortality by 20 percent compared with chest X-ray.

"Research shows that using CT scans to screen the lungs of people at higher risk of lung cancer led to early detection and saved lives. Certain patients, especially current and former smokers, would greatly benefit from this,” said Harvey I. Pass, MD, Stephen E. Banner professor of Thoracic Oncology, Departments of Surgery and Cardiothoracic Surgery, Division of Thoracic Surgery, and a Principle Investigator in the Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) of the National Cancer Institute. Most lung cancers are still discovered at late stages, when treatment is more challenging. CT screening often allows the diagnosis of lung cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages.

Since 2000 NYU Langone has been a part of the National Cancer Institute Early Detection Research Network (EDRN) - which includes dozens of institutions to help accelerate the translation of biomarker information into clinical applications and to evaluate new ways of testing cancer in its earliest stages and for cancer risk. NYU Langone also offers individuals at risk the chance to undergo a low-dose CT scan to evaluate for signs of early lung cancer as well as to participate in a National Cancer Institute-funded lung cancer early detection study.

Related Links:
New York University Langone Medical Center
NYU Langone Medical Center Lung Cancer Screening Program